


Schrodinger's Dragon

by AuditoryCheesecake, uniqueinalltheworld



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Adoribull - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bars and Pubs, Established Relationship, Halloween, M/M, Snapchat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 09:50:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8441074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuditoryCheesecake/pseuds/AuditoryCheesecake, https://archiveofourown.org/users/uniqueinalltheworld/pseuds/uniqueinalltheworld
Summary: Bull's working the closing shift on Halloween, and Dorian's out on the town. But Dorian has his ways of staying in contact.





	

**Author's Note:**

> It's still Halloween somewhere, right?
> 
> ((The premise is a little bit inspired by [this adorable tumblr post.))](http://help-mywife.tumblr.com/post/146286866697/help-my-wife-keeps-sending-me-texts-to-open-your)

Bull had tried his best to get out of closing Halloween night, even though he could always use the cash. It was a tough sell, since they were a bar, right next to a college campus, and Halloween was on a Saturday. He’d tried, and he’d failed. So he and Cadash were behind the bar, mixing gimmicky drinks like “witch’s brew” and “phantom phizz” for Batmans and unicorns and one really good Morticia Addams. He’d be there till three, at least.

He liked his job. Bartending suited him, even on busy nights. He and Cadash were a good team, both experienced, and she was a good conversationalist, when they were able to hear each other. He couldn’t hear anyone tonight. Drinks were ordered by shouting and hand gestures. Bull had the shots and popular beers written on a chalkboard above the bar, so he would point and people would nod. He was to busy to pay attention to how Cadash was doing it, but however she did, it worked. He didn’t want to mess with her flow.

He liked his job, and the tips were great, but he’d still wanted out, because somewhere else, the Chargers were trick-or-treating. And Dorian, who didn’t work Saturdays since his promotion to actual paralegal, was somewhere out there with them, dressed like a dragon.

Actually, probably not a dragon, but whatever he was dressed as, it had to be amazing. It was Schrodinger's Halloween costume: until Bull saw him, Dorian was both a sexy dragon and something else sexy that lost two awesome points for not being a dragon.

But a good eighty percent of his friends, including his boyfriend, were somewhere else. There would be drinks, without him. Candy, without him. Inside jokes, _without him_. Krem and Dorian were probably giggling in Tevene at that very moment. They each only giggled in very specific situations, but he was sure they could accomplish it somehow. Just to spite him.

Bull’s phone buzzed in his pocket-- again-- as he passed another five cans of three-buck beer across the bar and glanced at the clock. Twelve-twenty. He was due for his break, but the space around the bar was packed solid, and what he could see, the other rooms were full too.

Cadash saw him looking, and sighed, but nodded when she looked at her watch. Bull flagged down one of the servers to replace him, and slipped out the back into the alley, knocking his horns on a plastic spider hanging from the ceiling. The noise dropped precipitously when the door shut behind him. There were people on the porch, of course, behind a tall fence to show they were still in the bar’s property, but they were pretty quiet, all things considered. He ducked around the corner so he couldn’t even see them, or the blinking purple and orange lights strung up around the door.

The night wasn’t cold, which he was glad of. Plenty of people (Dorian) would wear their costumes come hell or high water, even if they risked frostbite. Dorian was probably complaining anyways. Bull wished he was there to hear it.

He wasn’t giving up on the dragon idea. It also incorporated a lot of eyeliner, and purple. Purple clothes, and gold sparkles somehow? Yeah, that’d look good. Maybe fake vampire teeth-- but classy. Dorian wouldn’t buy the awkward plastic ones, he’d figure something else out. Sharp teeth, gold sparkles, the fire breathing trick he’d learned from that friend of Varric’s… Bull liked this costume a lot.

He knew it wasn’t really likely. Dorian had been planning his costume for months, and kept it a very careful secret. Krem had acted like that made sense, so maybe it was a Vint thing, making the costume a big reveal. It was a Dorian thing, for sure. Whatever he was dressed as, Bull was sure he’d gone all out. Body glitter was almost definitely involved. And heels. Dorian was always complaining that Fereldans didn’t appreciate high heels, which were standard in Orlesian and Tevene fashion. Bull couldn’t wear heels much himself, but he appreciated the hell out of them on Dorian.

Bull would definitely have dressed as a dragon if he hadn’t been working. As it was, he’d settled for cat whiskers, drawn with Cadash’s cheapest eyeliner. He felt kinda bad about it.

His phone buzzed again, and he leaned against the wall to open the newest message. It was from Dorian, and all it said was “Snapchat for your eyes only. ;) Very relevant to your interests.” 

Bull opened the app, smiling, because when Dorian got even a little tipsy, he over-corrected for it in his texts, and spent five minutes making sure everything was properly spelled and punctuated instead of risking a single drunken typo.

He was also very excited by the prospect of finally seeing the hypothetical dragon costume. This was gonna be _good_.

Dorian’s snapchat story had updated, but Bull checked the one Dorian sent just to him first. It was a video, and started with Dorian’s face, smiling widely. Bull grinned at his screen. There wasn’t anyone around to see it, and he wouldn’t have cared if they did. Dorian’s makeup was perfect, and his hair close to it, and his eyes were sparkling.

“I have found the best part of Fereldan Halloween,” Dorian said into the camera. Bull could hear Krem and Skinner cackling in the background. “Nothing else epitomizes this country or this holiday so perfectly and succinctly.”

The video blurred as Dorian moved around, and then Bull was looking at the nose of a dog- a large one. Its tongue lolled happily out one side of its mouth, and it cocked its head at Dorian, who turned the camera back on himself long enough to say “She’s a _dragon_ , Bull,” before finally keeping the camera still long enough to show the dog’s costume. Spikes, scales, _wings_ , she had it all. It was impressive and really, really cool. Bull wanted a dog now, just to copy this one.

He replayed the snap, to see the dog again, and also to watch the way Dorian’s eyes crinkled when he smiled, and the way he said Bull’s name--

Dorian’s story was his costume, which was purples and sparkly like Bull had hoped, but not a dragon. There were a couple shots of the comic book he’d used as reference, to show how accurate his Dread Peacock costume was, and a lot of dramatic cape-swishing.

Bull watched the dog video one more time before he went back in. He’d see Dorian’s costume at the end of the night, and there would be plenty of pictures online forever. This video was short and would only last for a little while. And Dorian had sent it just to him.


End file.
